Looking Forward
As I’m completing my masters degree in educational technology, I’m taking time to reflect on all of the amazing things I’ve learned. I’ve learned how to use technology to improve student engagement, how to communicate with parents more effectively, and how to use technology to help benefit my own understanding and learning of our educational world. As my graduate courses are coming to an end, I know that this is helping me prepare for my journey as a lifelong learner.
I have three goals for my educational career. All of these goals will come in to play at different times of my career, but they are all something I want to focus on. My three goals include:
- Technology leadership
- Teaching coding to my students
- Using technology to inspire my students to positively impact their world
I’ve chosen these three goals because I feel that they are something that I’ve really been interested in doing ever since I’ve started the MAET (Masters in the Arts of Educational Technology) program.
Technology Leadership
I feel that leadership in technology is something that I am very interested in. Since I have so many useful tools and tips I’ve learned, I want to share them all with my colleagues. There are many different ways I can approach leading through technology. My first step is becoming a Technology Coach at my school. With this role, I will still be a kindergarten teacher, but I would be able to use my skills and ideas to help other teachers in my building (K-5) use technology in resourceful and effective ways. One way I can be an effective technology coach is to constantly be educating myself on new ways to use technology, new apps or websites that help students engage in learning, and to lead by example. I like to use certain social media platforms, such as Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram to gather new ideas for my classroom.
Coding with my Students
While I was studying educational technology, I was introduced to the term “coding”. Coding was something that seemed like something unapproachable and off limits.
Why should I learn what coding is, my students won’t be able to learn this? WELL… I was wrong. Little did I know, there are so many different ways to introduce coding to your students. Even if your students are only five years old! Programs like code.org and scratchjr.org are great starter programs for kids starting at the age of 5. Perfect for my classrooms! I started using code.org with my classroom last year, but we only got through so many lessons before I finally gave up and moved on to something else. With much reflection, I’ve realized I needed to change my mindset of failure. My goal is to use these programs in my classroom without fear, and to use these programs to help teach my students that making mistakes is an essential component to learning.
Using Technology to Inspire my Students to Positively Impact their World
Last, one of my goals is a reflection of my school’s mission statement. “Our goal is to inspire ours students to to positively impact our world.” When I got my job at Beverly Elementary, I was so excited to be on board with such passionate educators. When I teach, I want to make sure I am teaching my students to be kind, compassionate citizens of their world around them. Also, I feel that it is my job to educate my students the best I can of our world around us. Using technology tools such as Google Maps, Skype, or Google Cardboard, I can introduce different cultures to my students with higher understanding. Google Maps can show a world view of where things are located in the world, what our community looks like, and how to navigate a map. Skype could be used to communicate with another classroom in a different state, or even different country. Google Cardboard is a virtual experience for students to potentially have the experience of seeing a new culture or place. My goal is to eventually help teach my students about different things that are going on in our world by using these tools.
I feel that my goals are a reflection of who I am as an educator, as well as who I want to be. I want to make an impactful difference in my students’ lives, as well as the other students around me. I want my colleagues to see the benefits of technology in the classroom rather than seeing technology as an educational barrier or crutch to keep their kids busy.
Helen Fountain 